Moontower Design Build

Sep 2013

It's a total experiment. Living in a house with a footprint of 200sf. But so was most of the construction done paycheck to paycheck - we learned the value and pitfalls of building a project in phases. It started with terracing the backyard with shovels, a bobcat and an awesome collection of friends. Then there were the piers, diamond piers, pre-cast concrete "nuggets" that receive steel tubes hammered through them to lock them into the ground and disperse the building loads over a bigger area. And the list goes on, recycled blue jean insulation, Magnesium Oxide wall board inside and out, grey water sink, reclaimed tin roof from East End Lumber structure deconstructed near Pedernales Lofts, reclaimed windows from habitat for humanity and craigslist and more friends helping and polygal, plenty of polygal. And go ahead find another human willing to co-habitate with someone in that small of a footprint - it takes lots of love - thanks for all the support and patience Katie - our little place would be pretty lame without you!

$60k

Austin, TX

Sep 2013

Small houses are pretty awesome, you often utilize the same space for multiple functions. Take Rick and Marisol for instance. They had a kitchen, utility room, pantry, breakfast table and utility closet all in the same 100sf of space - the rhythm of the washing machine certainly does aide in chopping carrots when your cutting board is attached to the lid of your machine. But when you love to cook and wash clothes at the same time, maybe let the dog in from the backyard while your kid is close at hand on the computer - doing all of that in the same space can get pretty cumbersome. Enter Moontower. Maggie and Frank had some very creative solutions to allow for all of these activities to get along and play nice in a modest, light filled addition, Maggie's attention to detail really shines here in the panel layout and backsplash details. We have a lot of team favorites in this space, I'll enumerate: new wood floors seamlessly integrated with old contemporary pattern of plywood wall panels control joints to hide effects of settling in clay rich soil neighborhood interior windows between utility room and kitchen full light frosted pantry door frosted, back-lit glass backsplash Best part though - very happy clients - in a space we made.

$80k

Austin, TX

Sep 2013

"Anna, you're kinda like Moontower's first sweetheart. Your friends had a great experience working with us on their master suite and you kind of sent us a valentine - it read, "Hey Moontower, I just met you, and this is craaaaazy, but here's my number, so call me maybe"! Lucky for us you picked up and now you have a quintessential Moontower outdoor living space. Often for us the things that make our spaces successful are the ideas and passion the clients brings to the table. Anna, thanks for your energy and vision! Anna found a great home in the neighborhood just North of the Mueler re-development that was really well taken care, so much so that there was an original super cool looking stationary ornamental wooden screen adjacent to a ho-hum 36'' tall gate leading to her back yard between her front door and storage shed adjacent to her carport. The simple design of offset squares was made entirely of 2x material, creative use of something ubiquitous, there?s so many great ideas in the homes of Austin. What was behind the screen door was "the problem" a very low and very crooked and very dark covered patio - you know, where old washing machines go to die - or be filled with broken Christmas lights (note-this was not what she had on the patio, she was making the most of it, but you know how some of those crazy sheds in the backyard can get sometimes). The Moontower solution - raise the roof - seriously. But that's not all. Maggie McIntosh designed an even better and bigger screen inspired by the preserved detail Anna loved so much. The big ornamental screen incorporates the original detail into the new patio structure and also makes for great shadows on the table by day and out into the chocolate lab inhabited yard at night - fireflies are all thats missing ladies and gentlemen. Another unique part of the project was the hybrid construction of wood and light gauge steel enabling the re-imagined patio to be filled with more light and allow for breezes to whip up and out of the covered patio on hot summer nights."

$15k

Austin, TX

Sep 2013

Rodrigo and Nora found a gem of a house perched on a hill at rib throwing distance from Sam's BarBQ. Its pale painted cedar shingles and simple form conceal a cool, spare, and airy interior with awesome corner windows and a growing collection of all things cool ? art, furniture, awesome wood floors and an incredible nursery for the project?s muse, their first child. Lucky for Moontower a friend of Nora's mother recommended a motley assortment of design/builders she read about in a Tribeza article, thanks MOM! With a wood frame, tile covered porch threatening to swallow up any visiting grandparents a new stoop was at the top of the list for exterior improvements to compliment the well nested interior. An outdoor master plan was step one and included a stepping path of rectangular stone from the street and down hill mail box, an outdoor living room shaded by the mature oak in the front yard and an everyday path to the rear alley parking area. With a plan for the distant future on paper, we sharpened our pencils and estimated a scope that could be completed ASAP. The finished project includes the stone path to an existing front gate, re-done porch of solid, rough sawn cedar lumber and a new terrace of crushed limestone edged in steel to reduce the deck to ground height to 30? along with a full length solid cedar bench supported by minimally detailed steel boxes."

$15k

Austin, TX

Sep 2013

William came to Jack Sanders of Design Build Adventure with a vision of a place to hang out in his backyard that was a celebration of his existing garage - it needed to be open air and bug proof, and an inviting place to pick on a banjo. And so began this Moontower DBA collaboration. Using a simple material pallet of cedar and corrugated metal, this screened in porch is rustic yet clean and provides a welcoming venue for listening to good music with friends!

$50k

Austin, TX

Oct 2013

Alan & Julie came to Moontower with the desire to create a relaxed and eclectic backyard living and entertainment space for day or night use. They also wanted a more comfortable way to move between their main house and garage apartment; with nothing covering the connection, inclement weather isolated one from the other. A few months later (with a short break for the new baby!!), Alan and Julie have a new outdoor living room to enjoy, screened in and outfitted with a generous lighting plan and fans for maximum comfort. Large 10' screen doors accordion at the end of the room, opening the porch completely to a second future outdoor dining area ideal for large family gatherings. A custom feature wall hides the utilities, housing the entertainment center and and an elevated bar area. The primary private entry to the house was re-imagined a generous 8' sliding screen door leading first into the outdoor living space. A simple color palate of gray, chestnut, and crimson give the porch a modern feel.

$60k

Austin, TX

Sep 2013

"Sarah met Moontower on the set of Property Brothers - we swung hammers while she artfully photographed every moment of the insanity that is a TV remodel. A Post-Property Brothers friendship lead to late night drinks dreaming of a new space for Sarah to run her burgeoning photography operation with the long-term vision of possible guest quarters. On our first site visit, Keith's bright orange classic Ford longbed truck parked in the drive pointed the way to their backyard extravaganza; we knew the relationship was kismet when these DIYer?s showed us their outdoor shower converted from a German street corner telephone booth (wow!). Inverted metal roofing clads the exterior of this 200 SF wood studio, complete with a lofted reading room and salvaged spiral stair. Zach and Charlie's attention to detail really shines in the execution of the wood tiles and polygal windows. "

$45k

Austin, TX

Sep 2013

If you don?t know this house, you don't know Moontower. An intimate collaboration with owner architect Jim Thompson, and his mentor and wife Julie Thompson, a host of friends and family including Moontower have been working on making this entire house resemble a vision the couple have crafted over the years. From top to bottom the building has been altered, retouched, added to, and certainly re-imagined. What started as a framing gig in the spring of 2009 to pick up building experience and a little sun turned into a sustained, passionate and conscientious approach to design and construction in Austin.

$80k

Austin, TX

Sep 2013

Courtney Loving Sames is a photographer, philosopher, plant eater and pleasant person - or phreaking awesome. Alliteration is absolutely annoying. So, let's get back to talking normally. Courtney approached Moontower with 2 goals - an overall vision of a major addition or end-game vision of her Travis Heights property as well as a short term desire for a detached work space. After a brief period of research at the city and possibility wrangling we were able to present a maximum build out scenario that included an addition for her primary residence with an allocation of enough available build-able square feet for an accessory building to serve as an on site office or studio space. We got the green light on a simple gabled structure with large but economical windows and doors sheltered by generous eaves under a corrugated metal roof. The siding is a concrete panel chosen for its durability and affordability but punctuated with vertical battens to mimic some of the older Travis Heights houses she fawns over while traversing the terrain on either side of East Side Drive. Courtney's eye for awesome antiques or other unique finds led her to a stamped concrete tile hecho in mexico that we were able to use in her half bath as well as the patio at the entrance to the studio. We used an abstraction of the tile pattern to create an ornamental steel gate to the back yard alongside a full vehicle-sized gate allowing the occasional visiting classic car to be parked securely in back OR in the most generous circumstances having a big open door to her backyard for entertaining in her transformed outdoor living/dining space - fences - we don't need no stinking fences!

$80k

Austin, TX